Robert grossman and joseph powell



(No Model.)'

R. GROSSM-AN & J. POWELL.

SADDLE FOR VELOGIPEDES.

Patented Feb. 8, 1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT 7 Price.

ROBERT CROSSMAN AND JOSEPH POWELL, OF KIN-GS' LYNN, ENGLAND.

SADDLE FOR VELOCIPEDES.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 598,858, dated February 8, 1898.

Application filed A g st 20, 1896. Serial No. 603,363. (No model.)

T0 on whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ROBERT CROSSMAN and JOSEPH POWELL, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain,residing at Kings Lynn,Eng-

7 land, have invented new and useful Improvements in Saddles for Velocipedes, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to Velocipede-saddles chiefly designed for use by lady cyclists, and has for its object to provide a saddle which will combine absolute rigidity with softness at the fore part, thereby affording a much more comfortable saddle than is now in general use.

According to our invention the fore part of the saddle is formed with a chamber made of leather or other soft material, the said chamber being built upon or attached to an iron bracket having connected to it steel springs which support the back part of the saddle and permit of such vibrations as make it easy and comfortable to ride. The air-chamber, which is lined with rubber or supplied with an air-bag, is adapted to be inflated to any desired degree of hardness.

To enable our invention to be fully understood, we will describe the same by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an under side view of a saddle constructed according to our invention. Fig. 2 is a section of the same on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig.2;

and Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4. 4:, Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the construction of the fore part of the seat or saddle proper. Fig. 6 is a view illustrating a slight modification.

a is the leather seat or saddle.

b is the air-bag for distending the front or nose of the said saddle, and c is a plate to which the rear end of the saddle is riveted.

d is the bracket which supports the air-bag, the said bracket having sides or flanges e e, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and in section in Fig. 3, the said sides serving to confine the bag laterally while being inflated, so that it will cause the said bag to expand upwardly.

f is a spring which may be fixed to the seatstandard of a cycle by a clip of any suitable construction, and which at its front end is to always obtain extreme tension.

fixed on a bolt g, passing through the base of the bracket d, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and at the rear end is fixed by bolts h h to a bracket 1', carrying the plate 0, hereinbefore referred to, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The nose of the said saddle is constructed with a leather partition j, sewed into it, as shown clearly in Fig. 5, the said leather partition lying beneath the bracket cl, as shown in Fig. 2, and being tightly held by a clamping-plate 7c, fixed by means of the bolt 9 (which holds the spring f) and another bolt g.

In practice the air-bag is made with an outer covering of leather and an inner lining or bag of india-rubber. The leather is preferably fixed to the plate (1 by means of a clampingarrangement insures a firm fixing of the bag while maintaining the latter air-tight. m is a valve for permitting of inflating the bag.

71. a are two arms which at one end are each connected to the flanges e e of the bracket cl and which at the other end carry between them a lever 0, one end of which is connected either directly or by links 19 p with holes q in a lug q on the saddle-plate 0, While the other end of the said lever is passed over a rod 1", fixed at one end to the bracket d by the bolt g and at the other end carrying a thumb-nut s, or the rod 1" may be fixed at one end to the arms n n, as indicated in Fig. 6. With this arrangement it will be understood that when the nut s is tightened up the lever 0 will be operated to push the plate c rearward and so stretch the leather of the saddle to any desired degree of tension. By employing the series of holes (1 in the lug q the point of attachment of the lever 0 or the links 19 can be altered as the saddle stretches with age, so as To permit of the movement of the plate 0 relatively with the bracket 1', which directly supports the said plate, guide-pins t t on the plate 0 are passed into slots at a in the bracket '5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4:.

'0 is a spring arranged between the lever 0 and the thumb-nut s, the said spring serving to allow the said lever to move slightly as the rigidity at the fore part and were in some "cases so much depressed under the weight of a rider as to afiord no elasticity at all at the fore part.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of oursaid invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is- 1. A bicycle-saddle comprising among its members, a metallic frame provided with a rear support and a front support, a pneumatic cushion resting upon the front support, and a seat portion formed of flexible material secured to said rear support and having its front portion resting directly upon said cushion and secured to said front support below the top of said cushion, substantially as described.

2. A bicycle-saddle comprising among its members, a metallic frame provided with a rear support and a front support provided with vertically-disposed retaining-walls, a pneumatic cushion upon said support and between said retaining-walls, and a seat por tion, of flexible material, secured at its rear end to the rear support and having its front end resting directly upon said cushion and secured to said front support below the top of said cushion, substantially as described.

3. A bicycle-saddle comprising among its members, a supporting-spring provided at its rear end with a rear support and at its front end with a front support having vertical retaining-walls, a pneumatic cushion resting upon said front support between said retaining-walls, a seat portion of flexible material having its rear end secured to the rear support and its front end resting directly upon the said cushion, and provided with a horizontal web engaging said support below said 4. A bicycle-saddle having a rear support, a front support provided with lateral vertical flanges, a supporting-spring connected to said front supports, and at the rear end to a part movably connected with said rear support an air-cushion located between the saddle and said front support and lying between said flanges, arms connected to said front support, a lever connected intermediate its ends to said arms, and at one end to said rear support, and an adjusting device connected with said arms, and engaging the other end of said lever, substantially as described.

5. A bicycle-saddle having a front supporting-plate and a rear supporting-frame, a supporting-spring connected to said front plate and at its rear end provided with a slotted bracket, bolts engaging said slots and connecting said bracket and rear supportingframe, a tension device for moving said rear frame rearwardly with respect to said bracket, including among its members a cushioningspring and an air-cushion, located upon said front support, between it and the front end of the saddle, substantially as described.

6. A bicycle-saddle including among its members a saddle-spring provided at its rear end with a rear support movably connected thereto, and at its front end with a front support, arms secured to said front support and extending rearwardly, a tension-lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said arms and connected at its upper end with said movable rear support and an adjusting device connected with the other end of said lever, substantially as described.

7. A bicycle-saddle comprising among its members, a supporting-spring having at its rear end a rear support movably connected thereto, and at its front end a front support, arms secured to said front support and extending rearwardly, a tension-lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said arms, having its upper end operatively connected to said mov able rear support, an adjusting-rod connected with the front support and engaging said tension-lever, and an adjusting-nut on. said adj usting-rod and a spring-washer interposed between said nut and said tension-lever, sub- 

